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DisneyQuest
DisneyQuest was a chain of indoor interactive theme parks in the United States operated by the Disney Regional Entertainment subsidiary of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts and Gladusaurus Ventures. The DisneyQuest project was designed as a way for the Disney brand to reach populations that may not have the chance to travel to its various theme park destinations. It was meant to target large cities and urban areas. Had the project continued, Disney had plans to construct locations in many major cities in the United States, like Philadelphia and Baltimore. However, only two locations were built by DRE; one in Walt Disney World and a much shorter-lived one in Chicago, with Gladusaurus Ventures creating some of the unbuilt ones, including some more locations. History Disney Regional era (1998-2017) DisneyQuest first opened on June 19, 1998, as part of a major expansion of the Downtown Disney entertainment district (today Disney Springs) at Downtown Disney West Side, and was intended as the first of a larger chain of similar facilities. The first DisneyQuest outside of a resort was opened in Chicago on June 16, 1999 with plans for more locations worldwide. The Chicago location was in a development, North Bridge, where ESPN Zone, a fellow Disney Regional chain, opened about a month later It was at the same time that Gladusaurus Ventures purchased the license to open more successful DisneyQuest locations around the world. On December 9, 1998, Disney Regional announced Philadelphia as new location as a tenant of the Pavilion at Market East project developed by Goldenberg Group on the former location of a Gimbels Department Store. This location was acquired by Gladusaurus Ventures, and opened on June 7, 2000. The Chicago location permanently closed on September 4, 2001 due to low attendance as well as other, broader issues. However, the location was generating income just not enough for Disney. After the failure of DisneyQuest Chicago, the DisneyQuest project was officially brought to an end for Disney Regional Entertainment. Since then, a DisneyQuest at Disneyland Resort in California was opened by Gladusaurus Ventures, and opened with the rest of the Downtown Disney district in 2001. Disney announced another location to be built in downtown Toronto but the project was also acquired by Gladusaurus, and opened in 2002. After the closure of the Chicago location, Disney Regional Entertainment turned over control of the remaining location to Walt Disney World operations. On June 30, 2015, Disney officials announced that the Walt Disney World location would close in 2016 as part of the continued redevelopment of Downtown Disney into Disney Springs. A spokesperson for the labor unions that represent Disney employees who work at DisneyQuest stated that displaced workers will be relocated to other positions. The property was set to be redeveloped into a new attraction themed to the NBA after they left their previous location at Universal CityWalk. In November 2016, Disney officials announced that DisneyQuest would remain open for the remainder of the year and into 2017, with no definitive closing date. They further stated that they had no update on the status of the NBA attraction other than it was still planned for the site. On January 30, 2017, the Disney Parks announced that DisneyQuest would close after July 2, 2017 so work on the NBA Experience attraction could begin. DisneyQuest's final day of operation was on July 2, 2017. Gladusaurus era (1999-2016) In 1999, Gladusaurus Ventures, a new subsidiary of Gladusaurus Productions announced that they have purchased the license to open many more successful DisneyQuest locations in the US and abroad. Several locations that were being developed by Disney Regional Entertainment after the Chicago location were turned over to the new location. Such locations include, Philadelphia (opened in 2000), Anaheim (opened in 2001), and Toronto (opened in 2002). After operating DisneyQuest locations for 16 years, in 2016, Gladusaurus Ventures announced that it, along with its parent company Gladusaurus Productions, would discontinue its operations. The Canadian operations were handed over to Cineplex Entertainment, while the rest of them were transferred over to Corus Entertainment. Design The locations were to be similar in layout and attractions. This was so the various locations could contribute financially to new attraction designs (which cost in the range of several million USD), thereby reducing the cost that each location has to foot itself. The attractions at DisneyQuest are of a modular design, so that they could be easily replaced and updated. Originally, the idea was that no attraction would ever go unchanged for more than two or three years. However, after the Chicago location and the DisneyQuest project overall were closed, the one location in Florida has not been significantly changed. The only time an attraction has been changed out was in preparation for the opening of DisneyQuest Chicago. An attraction based on the Disney version of Hercules was replaced with Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for Buccaneer Gold. Unlike the DRE locations, the ones operated by Gladusaurus Ventures focuses on a contemporary family entertainment centre, where admission would be free, as people would pay to play on the games or ride the attractions through the use of "Power Cards" that are distributed at the entrance. Mascot Genie from Aladdin is an unofficial mascot of DisneyQuest. Upon entering at ground level, one is brought by an elevator (here called a "cybrolator," which, until 2011, formerly contained a short and humorous animation of Genie, voiced here by Dan Castellaneta, welcoming you and lampooning the airline industry and Star Trek) up to the center of the third floor (the "Ventureport"), where one's visit begins. He is also heard on the end-of-day closing announcements. When a game or attraction is down, a sign reading "The Genie has spotted a technical problem..." is displayed. Attractions First floor * Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for Buccaneer Gold: Man a pirate ship and destroy other ships, sea monsters, and fortresses to collect gold. One player captains the ship by steering and controlling the throttle, while up to four gunners control the cannons. * Virtual Jungle Cruise: Paddle an inflatable raft (with real paddles) as you make your way down a prehistoric river, avoiding dinosaurs and occasionally getting sprayed with water. Second floor * CyberSpace Mountain: Guests design a roller coaster on a design kiosk, then sit in a pitch-and-roll simulator and "ride" it. Guests may also ride pre-built coasters. The name is a play on Hyperspace Mountain, the occasional name of Space Mountain when Star Wars is used as a re-theming. It is hosted by Bill Nye the Science Guy, who instead refers to himself as "Bill Nye the Coaster Guy". * Aladdin's Magic Carpet Ride: Players wear an HMD as they ride a magic carpet through Agrabah, collecting gems to find The Genie, who has been hidden away in the Cave of Wonders. * Animation Academy: Regular sessions throughout the day teach how to draw characters, with lightpens on computer screens. Guests can purchase a printout afterward. * Sid's Create-a-Toy: A program featuring the evil Sid character from Toy Story that allows one to custom design a toy out of parts of other toys, and then actually buy it later. * Living Easels: An interactive touch screen program where guests can place various images onto several selectable backgrounds. A full-color printout of a guest's design may be purchased later. * Radio Disney Song Maker: Where you can create your own song, and then buy it later. Third floor * Mighty Ducks Pinball Slam: Based on the Disney Afternoon cartoon, players "become" a pinball in a gigantic projected pinball game; by rocking their "duck" back and forth, up to twelve players at a time control their corresponding pinball on the screen, attempting to collect the most points. * Buzz Lightyear's AstroBlaster: Players board bumper cars and attempt to navigate over foam balls ("asteroids") on the floor. By doing so, the asteroids will be sucked up into the cabin where players can then load them into a cannon and shoot at the other cars. If hit in the correct spot, one's car may spin around uncontrollably for ten seconds. Usually there are two players to a car; however, it is possible for one person to pilot and shoot at the same time. Fourth floor * Ride the Comix 4: Players wear an HMD to "enter the comic book world." Players battle with super villains by using a laser sword. Up to six players can be on a team at a time. Fifth floor * Ride the Comix 5: Players wear an HMD to "enter the comic book world." Players battle with super villains by using a laser sword. Up to six players can be on a team at a time. (This attraction is identical on both the 4th and 5th floor) * Invasion! An ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter: Four players ride inside a rescue vehicle to save astronauts: one player drives, the other three shoot enemy aliens. Based on the now-extinct Magic Kingdom attraction, ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter. Removed attractions * The corkscrew "Cave of Wonders Slide", 150 feet (46m) long, took guests from the third floor to the first. It was closed in DisneyQuest's first year of operation. * In "Treasure of the Incas", players drove small remote-control toy trucks through a maze in search of treasure. Along a wall were stations with a steering wheel and a video screen by which to drive the truck; the floor of the room was clear plastic through which people saw the trucks driving around and shouted directions to drivers. This attraction was plagued by interference from emerging technologies such as cell phones, and was finally closed after one of the vehicles caught fire. The clear flooring and mazes could still be seen near the Virtual Jungle Cruise area, adjacent to the Safari hunting games until 2007 when the floor was recovered and new games moved to the area. This area is now entirely jungle themed and is home to a number of ''Let's Go Jungle! ''games. * At "Magic Mirrors", once located on the second floor in the Create Zone, guests could take a picture of themselves and then edit their faces to appear like cartoons. The attraction closed in 2005 and has since been converted to seating. * "Hercules in the Underworld" was a team game where 6 guests would each control their own character from Disney's Hercules with a joystick. The object of the game was to collect lightning bolts and defeat Hades. This attraction was replaced with "Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for Buccaneer Gold". * All the redemption and the video arcade games were removed from the facility in January 2015 and July 2017 as a cautionary measure, in response to a state law that Disney believed made the games illegal under certain circumstances. Locations Disney Regional Entertainment * Bay Lake, Florida - Disney Springs (Opened on June 19, 1998; closed on July 2, 2017; now The NBA Experience) * Chicago Illinois - North Bridge (Opened on June 16, 1999; closed on September 4, 2001) Gladusaurus Ventures North America United States * Anaheim, California - Downtown Disney (Opened on January 12, 2001) * Las Vegas, Nevada - The Shops at Crystals (Opened on December 3, 2009) * Boston, Massachusetts - Assembly Square (Opened on June 13, 2014) * New York City, New York - Times Square (Opened on June 13, 2003) * Seattle, Washington - Downtown Seattle (Opened on July 4, 2000) * Minneapolis, Minnesota - Mall of America (Opened on August 1, 2001; closed in 2016; now a Crayola Experience) * Denver, Colorado - Northfield Stapleton (Opened in 2005; closed in 2015; now a GameWorks) * Houston, Texas (Opened on July 4, 2004; shares spaces with Corus Cinemas) * Baltimore, Maryland - Pratt Street Power Plant (Opened on March 10, 2000) * Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Opened on June 7, 2000) * Columbus, Ohio - Easton Town Center (Opened on March 11, 2005) * Miami, Florida - Shops at Midtown Miami (Opened on July 5, 2006) Canada * Toronto, Ontario - Queen's Quay Terminal (Opened on July 1, 2002; shares spaces with Planet Movies Toronto) * Niagara Falls, Ontario - Clifton Hill (Opened on May 25, 2001; shares spaces with Corus Cinemas Niagara Falls) * Ottawa, Ontario - ByWard Market (Opened in 2006; shares spaces with Planet Movies Ottawa) * Calgary, Alberta - CF Chinook Centre (Opened in 2001; shares spaces with Scotiabank Theatre Chinook) * Vancouver, British Columbia - International Village Mall (Opened in 2006 replacing Virgin Megastore) * Montreal, Quebec - (Opened in March 2001; shares spaces with Corus Cinemas Montreal) * Winnipeg, Manitoba - Polo Park (Opened in November 1999) * Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (Opened in 2006) * Regina, Saskatchewan (Opened in 2005) * Edmonton, Alberta - West Edmonton Mall (Opened in 2000) Rest of North America * Mexico City, Mexico (Opened in 2007; shares spaces with Planet Movies Mexico City) * Nassau, Bahamas (Opened in 2000; shares spaces with Planet Movies Nassau) Europe * London England (Opened in 2000 along with the Millenium Dome; shares spaces with Planet Movies London) * Blackpool, England - Blackpool Tower (Opened on September 12, 2001; closed in 2010; now The Blackpool Dungeon) * Paris, France - Disney Village (Opened on April 2, 2004; shares spaces with Planet Movies Paris) * Berlin, Germany - Sony Center (Opened in 2008; shares spaces with Planet Movies Berlin and Legoland Discovery Centre Berlin) * Amsterdam, Netherlands (Opened in 2003; shares spaces with Planet Movies Berlin) * Barcelona, Spain (Opened in 2005; shares spaces with Planet Movies Barcelona) Asia * Tokyo, Japan - Ikspiari (Opened on July 7, 2000; shares spaces with Planet Movies Tokyo) * Lantau Island, Hong Kong - Hong Kong Disneyland Resort (Opened on September 12, 2005; shares spaces with Planet Movies Hong Kong) * Shanghai, China - Disneytown (Opened on June 16, 2016; shares spaces with Planet Movies Shanghai) Category:Walt Disney World Category:Gladusaurus Productions